Amalgamator.



No. 782,611. PATENTED FEB. 14, 1905.

' M. v. LASSWELL.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 8, 190 3.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 14;, 1905.

PATENT- OFFICE.

A AIVIALGAIVIATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 782,611, dated February 14, 1905. Application filed December 8,1903. Serial No. 184,293.

of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to new and useful improvements in fine-gold amalgamators, and more especially to that type of amalgamator disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 694,290, granted February 25, 1902.

The objects of the im provementsare to providea simple and eflicient rock-screen to be used in combination with the sluice-box for the purpose of preventing the entry of rocks and other bulky substances into the amalgamator containers or receptacles.

.A further object is to provide an improved means fordraining the containers of the quicksilver and separating the same from the amalgam, said means to be so constructed that one of said containers may be drained independently of the rest or more than one'or all may be emptied simultaneously.

The invention consists in the improvements contemplated and their arrangement in operative combination, which will be more fully described hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed. I

1 have fully and clearly illustrated my in vention in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the complete amalgamating apparatus, two of the containers or receptacles being shown in V61: tical central section. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the sluice-box, the

rock-screen being shown in front elevation. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the rockscreen. Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of one of the plugs for closing the outlets from the containers; and Fig. 5 is a view in bottom plan view of the plug.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus including my improvements is shown as arranged in operative position. upon a suitable supporting-frame constructed with a series of stepped stages or platforms 1, upon each of which rests a container 2, the number of containers being such as to obtain the best results, according to the quality of the ore and the circumstances under which the separating process is being carried on. On the arrangement just mentioned it will be seen that the initial or primary container is arranged at the highest level and the remaining containers in the series being located at successively lower levels.

Each container comprises a metallic shell or casing which is substantially cylindrical in form and which is provided with a conical bottom 3, the lowest point of which is arranged at the'longitudinal center of the container, at which point is an opening 4, which communicate's, through a coupling 5, with an inclined conduit or receiving-pipe 6, the lower end of which opens into a receptacle 7 through an elbow 8. The inner surface of the couplings 5are provided with. screw-threads 9, which are engaged by an exteriorlythreaded rotary vertical channels or grooves 16, the lower ends of which extend to the extreme lower edge of the plug, the upper ends of the grooves 16 terminating at a point short of the upper edge of the plug. It will be seen that when the plug 10 is rotated to be moved vertically the upper ends of the grooves 16 will be raised out of the coupling, which will permit the quicksilver to flowthrough said grooves and coupling and thence through the pipe 6 to the receptacle 7, the amalgam remaining in the containers, the grooves 16 being of a size small enough to prevent the escape of the amalgam.

In order that the apparatus may be readily assembled or taken apart, the pipe 6 is preferably formed of a plurality of sections connected by suitable couplings 17, and to facilitate the cleaning of said pipe 6 the upper end thereof is provided with a removable plug or closure 18, which permits access to the interior of the pipe.

19 designates a vertical inlet-pipe inserted through the cover 13 and depending within the containers and through which the water and mineral-bearing sand are introduced into the containers. At their lower ends each of these pipes is provided with a discharge-noz- Zle 20, which is arranged at an angle to the pipe 19, so as to discharge the sand and water against the side of the container and the agitation of the mercury within the container be obviated. Each container is also provided with an outlet siphon-pipe 21,the lower end of which is located at ahigher level than the discharge end of the inlet-pipe 19, which forms the discharge end of the siphon.

Mounted at one end of the highest stage or platform of the supporting-frame is a vertical pillar 22, upon which the sluice-box 23 is supported, the said box opening at its end into a funnel 24, which communicates with the initial inlet-pipe 9 and through which the sand and water flows from the sluice-box.

Arranged upon the upper side of the funnel 24 are alining yoke-shaped bearings 25, in which are movably and rotatably mounted oppositely-disposed trunnions 26, provided upon a transversely-arranged bar 27, from which extends a plurality of radially and downwardly extending arms or bars 28, which extend entirely across the mouth of the funnel 24 and constitute a grating or screen to prevent rocks, sticks, &c., from entering the primary container. It will be seen that the screen being rotatable it may be swung up away from the mouth of the funnel whenever occasion should require.

In operation the sand and water flows down the sluice-box and funnel 24 into the primary container, when it is dashed against the wall of the container and is acted upon by the quicksilver, after which it is siphoned into the next container in the series, and so on to the end, when the refuse matter is discharged from the pipe 29.

When it is desired to draw off the quicksilver from any one or all of the containers,

the valve-plugs 10 are operated to raise the upper ends of the grooves 16 out of the coupling 5, when the quicksilver will be permitted to flow through said groove and pipe 6to the receptacle 7 the amalgam remaining in the containers for the reasons heretofore mentioned.

Each of the containers is provided with a suitable manhole 30, through which access is had to the interior thereof for the purpose of obtaining the amalgam, which is accomplished by the following described operation: After the plug 10 has been operated to bring the groove 16 in position to permit the quicksilver to flow from the container and said container has been drained of the free quicksilver said plug is then turned to come entirely out of the coupling 5 and leave the opening therethrough entirely free and unobstructed. The manhole 30 is then opened, and by means of a suitable implement the amalgam is forced through the coupling 5 into the pipe 6 and thence to the receptacle arranged at the lower end of said pipe, said receptacle having been emptied of the quicksilver which has previously flowed thereinto.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is In 'a fine-gold amalgamator, a plurality of containers communicating with each other and provided with openings in their bottoms, a sluice-box communicating with the initial container, yoke-shaped bearings secured to the s1uice-box, a shaft rotatably and removably journaled in the bearings, and provided with gratebars depending across the sluice-box, a

MARTIN VANBUREN LASSWELL.

WVitnesses:

J OHN H. CAMPBELL, J OI-IN R. HUBERTY. 

